Enjoying Sydney

What might have been a dull week, full of school, various projects, and a few trips to the mall, was actually quite exciting when Luke’s two friends form Massachusetts showed up on Saturday with high hopes of exploring Sydney.  Being comfortable in our new city, we were more than ready to play tour guide and plan a few exciting adventures for the upcoming week.  I know I’m behind on my blog, but I’m catching up and this week sure had LOTS to blog about. First up on the list was dinner at Sydney Harbour - what was on the menu…your typical kangaroo and crocodile meal with a side of potatoes of course.  This was not my idea, but Luke had been talking about trying kangaroo since he first got to Australia and his friend Anthony seemed to be just as enthusiastic about the idea.  Before dinner we thought we would show them Sydney 

(and I mean ALL of Sydney at once) from the famous Sydney tower, a building that stands 1014ft high in heart of Sydney with 360 views of this beautiful city.  With the sun just setting, and the lights from all the buildings shining bright, the view was breathtaking.  I quickly grabbed my camera to take a few pictures, but of course it died soon as I turned it on (you might understand my frustration if you recall that this camera is brand new and the battery should last a while….o well, I guess I’ll have to be more careful and check it out before I leave next time).  So, back to the tower and this amazing view; Luke had his camera handy and a full battery, but that didn’t seem to help much either considering the darkness and the glare of the windows didn’t create the best set-up for any amazing pictures.  After the camera troubles, we were able to take in the views for ourselves, look through a few of the telescopes and really appreciate this beautiful city we are living in.  I did not need a picture to capture anything I felt when I stood that high and looked down that far or out in the distance.  We spent some more time circling the viewing platform and then listened to our growling stomachs and made our way into the oddest shaped elevator I’ve ever been in, and I had plenty of time to take in the space as the ride down 1000 feet too quite some time.  We left the tower, but I’m sure this won’t be our last time here; we bought unlimited 3 month passes, so we’ll be back for a morning or afternoon view.  The night was warm and the walk down to the harbour was quite pleasant, except for the fact that I was very hungry at this point; we were all hungry.  

Wolfies Waterfront Grill, Sydney Harbour

We had reservations at Wolfies, which was right on the water, but if you could see Sydney harbour and the restaurants lined along the water, you would have been just as lost as us when searching for the right one.  We tried to find a map, but ended up walking until luckily we stumbled upon the twinkling lights and quaint setting of Wolfies Grill; it was a beautiful restaurant and a beautiful night to dine outside with views of the opera house and the bridge.  

The view from our table

The fancy menus and atmosphere aren’t exactly what we’re used to, but we went with it and pretended we knew what we were doing when we ordered an appetizer and a bottle of wine to start.  This was the first time since being here that we’ve actually had a real server like the one’s we’re used to at home, nothing like the 6 or 7 servers we have when served at Broadway.  It was nice to have an attentive person look after us during a meal for once.  When searching the menu, I did come across the kangaroo/crocodile combination plate, but was to weary to order it all for myself; we all know how picky I can be and I thought I might not like it.  So, typical me stuck with a chicken dish and decided to just try a bite of Luke’s meal instead.  While I might not have been as adventurous as I would have liked, I was too hungry to end up with something I wouldn’t like.  When our food arrived, I was definitely satisfied with my decision and ate every last bite of my chicken PLUS two bites of Luke’s plate, one of the croc and one of the kangaroo.  While they were not terrible, I was not that impressed with either.  The crocodile tasted like rubbery chicken that came from the water and the kangaroo just tasted like tough steak, but not as good.  Luke and Anthony loved their exotic Australian meals, but I was completely happy with my decision and also proud of myself for at least trying both.  After leaving the restaurant (and actually tipping, which is different for us too) we found some dessert we were a little more used to, 30cent McDonalds cones that I know I’ve mentioned before.  The night was still warm, but we were a little tired so we caught a bus back home; we had to get some rest, there was plenty more planned for the week!